Work & commute · Fairfax

Work & commute in Fairfax, MN

Most working residents leave Fairfax for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are New Ulm (8%), Franklin (7%) and Redwood Falls (6%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42 of 540 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 498 Fairfax residents head out of town to work, 42 work right here, and 147 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fairfax.

498live here, work elsewhere

42live and work here

147work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fairfax goes to work

New Ulm19.5 mi away

8%43

Fairfax (in town)right here

8%42

Franklin7.9 mi away

7%36

Redwood Falls18.7 mi away

6%32

Olivia21.8 mi away

4%20

Buffalo Lake15.3 mi away

3%18

Hutchinson30 mi away

3%16

Sherman10.9 mi away

3%16

Willmar44.1 mi away

3%15

Morgan12.6 mi away

2%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%291

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Fairfax commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

21%

37%

18%

24%

21%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fairfax is a commuter town

0.35jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.35 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Fairfax are

189 jobs are based in Fairfax. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fairfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fairfax

189 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities46%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Fairfax residents hold

540 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−40%

Jobs based in Fairfax, 2013 → 2023: 315 → 189. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.